Automatic reversing device



(No Modal.)

G.- L. SHOREY. Automatic Reversiug Devioe, No. 232,308. Patented Sept. 14, I880.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. SHOREY, OF LYNN, MASSAOHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC REVERSING DEVICE.

SPECIFICAJION forming part of Letters Patent No. 232,308, dated September 14, 1880. Application filed May 22, 1880. (No model.)

T0 roll whom it may co-naern Be it known that I, GEORGE L. SHOREY, of Lynn, connty of Essex, State of Massachnsetts, have invented an Improvement in Antomatic Reversing Devices, of whieh the following description, in connection With the accompanyin g drawings, is a specifiction.

My invention relates to mechanical movements, and is shown in an automatic reversing device.

In some kinds of machinery, as, for instance, washing-machines, it is desirable to have the machinery rnn a short time in one direction, and then reverse and rnn in the other direction, snob a reversal insnring the proper detersive action and preventin g the knottin g np of the clothes. It is obvions that snch a reversal of the rnnning mechanism is also desirable in other kinds of machinery, as for mixing and stirring and like operations, it being immaterial whether snob machinery rnns with the same speed or for the same length of time in the two directions.

As herein shown, myinvention is embodied in a reversing-gear for a washing-machine, sneh machine consistin g of a drnm to receive the clothes and adaptcd to be rotated in an external easing filled Wth water, soap, &c.; and it consists in the combination, With a shippin g-lever adaptcd to ship a boit or clntch, of a reversinggcar engaged and rotated by a pinion rotated npon the main cylinder-shaft, the said gear being provided with cam-snrfaces to engage and ship the shipping-lever, and thereby reverse the direction of rotation of the machinery, the said reversing-gear inclnded. After thns having reversed the machine by one of its cam-snrfaces the reversinggear carries the camsnrface away from the lever jnst engagcd thereby nntil, when it has made nearly a whole revolntion, another camsnrface cngages the said lever, advanoes to shiit, and then again rccedes in the reverse direction, and the said gear thns keeps np a continuons oscillating movement nntil the machinery is stopped.

the oam being a bout lever adjnstahly connected, as hereinafter desoribed, with the shipping portion, snob adjustment enabling the proper amonnt of movement t0 he given to the belts.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved reversinggear; Fig. 2, a section thereof on line X X, showing the form of the frame-work, and Fig. 3 an end elevation thereof.

The frame (I, of snitable form to snstain the shafts, levers, &c., is provided with flanges and bolt-holes b, to properly securc it to the casin g of the washing-machine.

The driving-pnlley a, rotated in one direction by the open helt d and in the other by the crossed boit c, (see Fi 3,) is keyed npon the shait f, npon which rnn the loose pnlleys 0 0 on either side of the driving-pnlley c, the said pnlleys alternately receiving the helts d 0, respectively, while the other one is on the pulle; c, driving the machine. Tho shaft f carries a pinion, g, meshing With the gear 71. on a shaft, 17, which extends into the casing and carries the clothes-cylinder of the washing machine. Upon the same shait i is a pinion, k, en gagin g the reversing-gear I,- and properly proportioned thcreto t0 cause the latter t0 revolve once while the machine is rnnning for a snfficient length of time in one direction to make it desirahle to reverse it.

The reversing-gear l carries on its side the reversing-cams m a, properl y placed t0 engage by their surfaces 2 3 one end, 4, Fi 1, of the bent lever o, pivoted at 5, the other end whereof is pivotod to the short arm of the straight shippinglever P, pivoted at 6, and connected at its other end with the sliding helt-shipper r, having the boit-guides s 25 and handle u.

When the parts are in the position shown in the drawings the open helt (Z is on the drivin g-pnlley c, and the crossed boit a on the loose pnlley c*, the end et of the lever 0 being in its highest position, and the shipper 1' in its extremc inward position-that is, toward the left in Fig. 1. The machinernnning nnder snch circnmstances, the roversing-gear lwill tnrn in the direction of the arrow thereon, Fig. 3, and the surface 2 of the ea1n m will come into engagement With the end 4 of the lever 0, and as the gear rotates further Will move the said end 4 dowuward toward the center of the gear I, and thus rock the lever 0 and the connected lever 19, thelatter thon moving the shipperr outward to the right of Fig. 1, first carrying the belt d upon the loose pulley 0 so that it ceases to impel the machine, the latter having sufficient momentum to complete the movement of the shipper 1* to bring the belt e upon the pulley e, in order to drive the machine in the opposite direction. The gear l now turns in the direction opposite to the arroxv, the cam m moving away from the end ofthe lever o, leaving it in its lowest position until, after nearly a revolution of the gear I, the surface 3 of the cam a engages the lever 0, and again reverses the machine, these operations being kept up as long as powcr is applied to the belts d 0.

It Will be noticed that the surface 2 should extend outward toward the periphery of gear l farther than the surface 3, and the latter (3) inward fart-ber than the former (2) by a dis tance as great as the vertical thickness of the end 4 of the lever 0, and that the surfaces 7 and 8 may pass along for a short distance over the end of the said lever withoutfurther moving it while the movement of the machine in either direction is being checked and reversed.

When the machine is in proper working order the cam-surfaces 2 3 and a portion of the ones 7 8 are all that are needed, and the Working-surfaces of both cams m n might be placed on a single camprojectionas, for instance, the one, m, bonnded by the surfaces 2 7 and the surfaces indicated by the dotted limes, the ones 9 10 performing the function of the ones 3 8 but in case the machine should for any cause fail to reverse, as if by carelessness, the wrong one of the belts d c should be crossed, or the connections of the levers 0 p fail, or the belt to check the momentum of and reverse the machine should break, the

surface 7 or 10 would continue moving past the lever 0, and the rear side of the surface 9 or 2 would strike thesaid lever and cause some breakage or derangement of the machinery. T0 obviate this the two acting; surfaces are placed on the separate cam-projections m n, and a channel or space is left betwcen them, so that if eithcr of the entire surfaces 7 or 8 should pass by the lever the latter will be met by the surface 11 or 12, and the lever returned to its original position without damaging the machinery, which would either come to rest With both belts on the loose pulleys, or would continue moving in one direction until the fault was rectified.

A similar protection to the machine might be accomplished by rcmoving the teeth of the gear l, embraced by the bracket 13, so that in case the surfaces 7 or 8 should travel too far the gear Z would become disengaged by the pinion 76 and cease to turn.

It Will be understood that the two cam-projections m n may really be considered as a single working-cam, and are herein spoken of as such.

The ends of 0 and 1) are slotted, as shown at 14, so that the connecting-pin can be placed at the different points relative to the fulcrum 5 6, and thus properly adjust the throw or amount of movement of the shipper 1* relative to that of the cams m n; and the fulcrum 6 of lever 9 is also adjustable in the slot 15, to make the range of movement of the said shipper in its guides w between the proper points.

The machine is stopped at any time when the cams m 12 are not near the lever 0 by moving the shipper 1' by its handlc a, so as to place both belts d 0 on the loosc pulleys c 0.

It is evident thatthe reversing-wheellmay be driven by a pulley, as there need not be any positive time relation between the act of reversal and other movements of the machine. It is also obvios that the shipping-lever 1nay act on a clutch or other driving arrangement instead of the belts.

If desired, the two cam-projectionsmn might be placed 01.1 opposite sides of the wheel l, in which case the surfaces 2 and 3 wonld be the acting surfaces if one of the belts, as the one marked 6, were crossed, while the surfaces 11 12 would act if the other one of the belts were crossed, and the cams might be so placed that one pair of surfaces would act at different intervals from the other pair.

I claim 1. In a revcrsing mechanism for washingmachines, the following elements, namely: a reversing-wheel rotated in connection with the machine and provided with two cam-surfaces and a shipping-lover to be engaged and moved by one of the said camsurfaces in the rotation of the reversing-wheel in one direction to reverse the direction of rotation of the machine, the reversing-wheel included, after which the said lever is engaged by the other cam-surface to again reverse the machine, which is thus automatically caused to run continuously in opposite directions alternately after the alternate engagements of the two cam-surfaces, [O

substantially as described.

2. In a reversing mechanism, a shipping lever to reverse the driving mechanism and a reversing-wheel and primary cam-surfaces thereon to alternately engage and actuate the said lever, combined With secondary cam-surfaces to actuate the shipping-lever if for any cause the operation of the primary surface fails to reverse the machine and the reversing-wheel continues its rotation in the same direction after the said primary cam-surface has moved the shipping-lever, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a reversing mechanism, the reversing gear and a reversing-cam thereon, combined with a shipper and a compound lever, one por- Lion of which is acted upon by the reversing cam and the other portion whereofis connected with the shipper, the two portions being adjustably connected with one another, whereby the throw of the shipper relative to that of the cam can be properly regulated by changing the position of the connecting device, substantially as described.

4. The combine/don of the reversing-gear and cam-snrfaces thereon with the shipper and shipping lever having a movable fnlcrnm, whereby the path or range of movement of the shipper can be varied in position, substantially as described.

5. The reversnggear and its reversing-cam, the bent lever adapted to be engaged thereby, combined With the adjustably-pivoted lever, adjnstably connected with the said bent lever, and the belt-shipper, 2Lll arranged and to operate substantially as described.

6. In a reversing mechanism for machinery, the shipping-lever combined with a reversingwheel provided With the cam-projeetion m n, with the working cam-surtaces at the ends of and the diagonal channel between the portions m n, to allow the sa-id cam-projection to pass by 20 In testimony whereof 1 have signed my 25 name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE L. SHOREY.

Witnesses J os. P. LIVERMORE, ARTHUR BEYNOLDS. 

